Flourishing programs in 90+ disciplines. A vibrant Christian mission. $50 million
in new campus construction. Championship athletics. 94% placement within 6 months
of graduation. There’s never been a better time to consider Hope College.

As a member of the MIAA and NCAA Division III associations, Hope College sponsors
22 varsity sports for men and women. The college is home to the 2014 NCAA Division
III National Championship women’s volleyball team.

GPS to Open with Taylor 2 Dance on Sept. 4-5

Breadcrumb Navigation

The Hope College Great Performance Series will open its 2008-09 season with Taylor
2 Dance on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 4-5, at 7:30 p.m. in the Knickerbocker Theatre.

Legendary choreographer Paul Taylor established Taylor 2 in 1993 to ensure that his
works could be seen by audiences all over the world. Taylor looked back to the 1954
origins of the Paul Taylor Dance Company for the structure of his new company: six
professionals with a particular gift for his style who perform his work throughout
the world.

"The New York Times" praised a recent performance by the group, saying "the performance
would have been impressive enough... but the dancers' aplomb and artistry were even
more remarkable."

The range of the dancers will be highlighted at Hope College when they perform different
programs each night.

Taylor 2 tours extensively. In the spring of 1994, the United States Information Agency
sponsored the company's first international tour, which sent the dancers to the African
nations of Mozambique, Botswana, Mauritius, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Swaziland. In January
1997 the company celebrated India's 50 years of independence by touring in tandem
with the Paul Taylor Dance Company. Taylor 2's widespread domestic touring has already
taken the company to 46 states.

Taylor 2 has also done extensive residencies in Albany, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia,
St. Louis and San Francisco, teaching and performing for thousands of students. While
at Hope College the company will lead a master class with Hope College dance students.

Paul Taylor has received every important honor bestowed to artists by the United States
and France. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Clinton in 1993.
In 1992 he was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors, and received an Emmy Award
for "Speaking in Tongues," produced by WNET/New York the previous year. In 1995 he
received the Algur H. Meadows Award for Excellence in the Arts, and was named one
of 50 prominent Americans honored in recognition of their outstanding achievement
by the Library of Congress's Office of Scholarly Programs. He was elected to knighthood
by the French government as Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1969 and
has since been elevated to the ranks of Officier (1984) and Commandeur (1990). In
January 2000 he was awarded France's highest honor, the Légion d'Honneur, for exceptional
contributions to French culture.

Taylor is the recipient of three Guggenheim Fellowships, and his awards for lifetime
achievement include a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship--often called the "genius award"--and
the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award. Taylor's works have been licensed
for performance by more than 75 companies worldwide. His autobiography, "Private Domain,"
was nominated by the National Book Critics Circle as the most distinguished biography
of 1987. Taylor and his company are the subject of "Dancemaker," Matthew Diamond's
award-winning, Oscar-nominated film, hailed by "Time Magazine" as "perhaps the best
dance documentary ever."

Additional information about the company may be obtained online at www.ptdc.org. More about the Great Performance Series may be found at www.hope.edu/gps.

Season tickets are now available. Subscriptions are $58 for adults, $47 for senior
citizens, and $125 for a family (no matter how many children). The subscriptions are
such a savings that they are equivalent to seeing two shows for free.

Tickets for the performance are on sale at the ticket office in the main lobby of
the DeVos Fieldhouse, and cost $17 for adults, $12 for senior citizens, and $6 for
children 18 and under. The ticket office is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and
can be called at (616) 395-7890.

The DeVos Fieldhouse is located at 222 Fairbanks Ave., between Ninth and 11th streets.
The Knickerbocker Theatre is located in downtown Holland at 86 E. Eighth St.

Related News

Visiting scholar Dr. George Harinck of the Netherlands will present the address "Nicholas Steffens and Trans-Atlantic Relationships within the Reformed Church" on Thursday, Sept. 4, at 4 p.m. at Hope College in the Maas Center conference room.